First Qualifying Round for 2016 U.S. Open Cup Begins this Weekend

U.S. Open CupOct 15, 2015

CHICAGO (Oct. 15, 2015) – The first qualifying round for the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is set to begin this weekend. The action starts at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 17, with Southie FC matching up with Battery Park Gunners in Roxbury, Massachusetts, a game that kicks off a weekend of 10 East Coast games.

Twenty of the 56 local qualifying entries will participate in first qualifying round games this weekend, Oct. 17-18, while 32 other clubs will compete on Oct. 24-25. The winners will play each other in the second qualifying round, scheduled for Nov. 14-15 and Nov. 21-22.

Two teams scheduled to play in the first qualifying round (KC Athletics and Tobacco Road FC) have withdrawn from the competition, thus automatically advancing their opponents (International Portland Select and CD Motagua of New Orleans, respectively) to the second qualifying round.

The U.S. Open Cup, recognized as U.S. Soccer's national club championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The tournament has crowned a champion annually since 1914. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.